Wall and ceiling construction



Sept. 3, 1929- K. S LIDELL ET AL 1 1,727,117

WALL .AND CEILING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 29, 1927 Patented Sept. 3,1929.

I UNITED STATESiPA-TENT OFFICE.

KEMPER SLTDELL GILBERT J. SCHULTZ, OF MADISON, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOBS TO0. F. BURGESS LABORATORIES, INC., OF MADISON, WISCONSIN, A CORIORATIONor DELAWARE.

WALL ANn CEILING cons'rnncrrxon.

Application filed January 29, 1927. scrial'li'o. 164,498.

This invention relates to improvements in and method of Wall and ceilingconstruction, and has particular reference to the use of wallboards toform a contiguous wall and ceiling structure.

The principal object of the invention is to prevent stresses andconsequent buckling of wallboards mounted on side walls caused by v thecontraction of certain portions of the 0 wooden framework to which thewallboards are nailed or otherwise fastened.

Other advantages will become apparent from a consideration of thefollowing specification and accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional \lCW of a room illustrating ourinvention Fig. 2 is a similar View illustrating the application of theinvention to a slightly modified form of framing.

The method of applying wallboard which has heretofore been used is,first, to nail the ceiling sheets to the ceiling'joists and then I applythe wall sheets, the tops of these wall sheets fitting tightly againstthe ceiling sheets. 25 In our improved construction, as illustrated incross-section in Fig. 1,, are the floor joists supporting the floor 11,and .12 are the lower plates upon which rest the wall studding 13 onwhich in turn are the upper plates 36 14 to which the ceiling joists 15are fastened. Instead of the plates 14:, shown in Fig. 1, the

ceiling joists may rest on ribbons 16 which are supported by thestudding 13, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The upper floor isindicatedbynumeral 17 This framing arrangement is of conventional form andrequires no further description. The wallboard is first applied andfastened'to the studding 13 by nails or other fasteners 18 to form theside walls 19.

These side sheets 19 do .not abut the ceiling joists 15 but are spacedfrom them, preferably about one-quarter inch. The side sheets-arefastened only to the studding 13 and not to the upper plates 14 orribbons 16, as in the prevailing practice. It is known that wood doesnot expand or contract appreciably in the direction of its grain and,hence, the studding does not expand or contract horizontally withvarying moisture, but the plates and ribbons, being horizontallydisposed, in expand--' mg and contracting across their grain frequentlycause the joints between wallhoards secured thereto to crack. Thisexpansion and contraction may be aggravated by the weight 55, of thejoists. Therefore, the wallboard is not subject to stresses where itisfastened to the studding only, but is so subjected wherefastoned to theceiling joist supports.

It is also usual, according to the prevailing practice, to mail orotherwise fasten the lower end of the side wall-board sheets 19 to thelower plates 12, shown in Fig. 1,

or to a nailing strip or block 20, as in Fig. 2. We have also found itadvantageous to omit nailing the wallboard to the bottom supports, suchas the bottom plate 12 or the nailing block 20, thereby forming a slipjoint at these points and preventing any stresses which may result inbuckling of the wall board; A. baseboard 21 may be employed to finishthe structure.

In our construction, the ceiling sheets 22- are applied by means ofnails or other fasteners 23, preferably after the wall sheets areapplied, which is the reverse of the usual practice. The ceiling sheetsabut the wall sheets. Since the ceiling joists rest on the upper plates1a or ribbons 16 any movement due to contraction or expansion of theseplates or ribbons is transmitted to the ceiling joists 15 and thence tothe wallboard ceiling sheets 22. Since in our construction the ceilingsheets 22 are free, to;

move or slip along the wall sheets 19, the

wall sheets will not be put under pressure as in the constructionheretofore used in which the wall sheets abut the ceiling sheets. If thewall sheets are put under pressure by contiguous ceiling sheets theywill buckle, with consequent cracking and spelling of the plaster orother decorativematerial used on the wallboard and loosening of thejoint filler between adjacent wall sheets. In our construction, it willbe ap parent the wall sheets are not subjected to strains. The ceilingsheets as well as the upper plates move relatively to the side wallsheets. A molding 24, preferably is used along the joint between thewall and ceiling and serves,- in addition to its usual function, toconceal any slight cracking of finishing material which may occur alongthe joint between the walland ceiling.

Although we prefer to apply the wall sheets first, it is. possible inour construction'to apply the ceiling sheets first, leaving sufiicientroom between the ends of the ceiling sheets and side walls to insert thewall sheets and form the slip joint. It is apparent also that theadvantage of this construction in relieving the vertical side wallboards of end compression stresses is obtainable regardless of thematerial of which the ceiling may be constructed.

What we claim is:

-1. In a building construction, a contiguous wall and ceiling, theceiling material slidably abutting the wall material, 'whereby an upwardor downward movement of said ceiling material may take place relativelyto the wall material and without applying stresses to said wallmaterial.

2. In a building construction, a contiguous wall and ceiling ofwallboard, the ceiling sheets slidably abutting the wall sheets.

and the upper ends of said wall sheets being spaced from the ceilingjoists to permit vertical movement of said joists and ceiling relativelyto the wall sheets with.- out imposing stresses on the latter.

3. In a building construction, a contiguous wall and ceiling ofwallboard, the ceiling sheets slidably abutting the wall sheets,

and said wall sheets terminating about onequarter inch from the ceilingjoists to permit vertical movement of said joists and ceiling relativelyto the wall sheets without imposing stresses on the latter.

4. In a building construction, a contiguous wall and ceiling ofwallboard, the ceiling sheets abutting the wall sheets, the wall sheetsbeing secured independently of the ceiling joist supports and beingspaced from said joists whereby said supports are ceiling sheetsabutting the wall sheets, said wall sheets being spaced from the ceilingjoists, and'the ceiling joist supports being free to move relatively toSaid wall sheets.

6. In a building construction including studding and ceiling joists, acontiguous wall and ceiling of wall board, the ceiling sheets abuttingthe wall sheets. said wall sheets being fastened to studding, saidceiling sheets being fastened to ceiling joists resting on supportsattachedto said studding, and said ceiling joist supports being free tomove relatively to said wall sheets.

7. In a building construction, including bottom supports for the wallstudding, a contiguous wall and ceiling of wallboard, the ceiling sheetsbeing slidable relatively to the wall sheets, said wall sheets beingunsecured to said bottom supports whereby said sheets are free to moverelatively to said bot tom supports. i

8. In a building construct-ion; a wall structure faced with wallboard,the top and botton'i ends of said wallboard forming slip joints'with theceiling joist and bottom supports.

In testimony whereof, we have subscribed Olll' names.

KEMPER SLIDELL. GILBERT J. SCHULTZ.

